Goodbye, Mr. Regret

He refused to dwell on it. He hoped, desperately, that he was wrong-prayed that nothing like that had actually happened.

All he wanted was to get to her as soon as possible.

Over half an hour later, someone knocked on Jessica's door, handing her a bag of medication. She took the pills, following Herbert's instructions he'd sent over, and swallowed them all dutifully.

There was also a bottle of liquid medicine. She drank it, and a soothing coolness washed down her throat, dulling the raw, burning pain that had been bothering her.

Her throat hurt so much she hadn't eaten all day. Even before leaving home, just brushing her teeth had made her gag. Food wasn't even a consideration.

Now, after the medicine, she wondered if she might feel a little better. There was a supermarket and a couple of restaurants nearby; she originally wanted to pick up something light—maybe some creamy soup-but none of the places had anything like that. In the end, she bought a cup of bone broth and a fruit yogurt smoothie and brought them back to her apartment.

The broth was piping hot, so she let it cool while she tried a bit of the smoothie. The tangy, sweet flavor was surprisingly satisfying after so many hours without food, but halfway through, she couldn't fight the wave of nausea.

She rushed to the bathroom, clinging to the sink as she dry-heaved several times. Thankfully, nothing came up.

The effort left her throat feeling raw again.

Back in the kitchen, she forced herself to finish the rest of the smoothie, this time eating even slower. At least the nausea didn't return.

The broth was still too hot to drink, so she decided to lie down and rest for a while.

She'd barely settled in when her phone buzzed with a message—two photos from Timothy.

The first was a selfie, with a bandage wrapped around his forehead.

The second showed his leg in a cast.

Then, a text followed:

[So you're just going to leave me? Abandon me?]

Jessica closed the chat, blocked Timothy's number and account without hesitation.

The court had already accepted her divorce filing. There was nothing left between

her and Timothy that warranted any more private conversations.

When Timothy saw she hadn't replied, he sent another message.

But all he got was an error notification.noveldrama

He gripped his phone so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Damn Vince!

met

He'd practically forced Jessica to leave. If she were still in Riverside City, at least he'd be able to track her down quickly.

Now, he was just frustrated.

He needed to use the bathroom.

But with his leg suspended, he couldn't get out of bed.

"Timothy, you look terrible," Sallie said, coming in with breakfast.

"It's nothing," he muttered.

"Aren't you hungry? You should eat something first."

"I'm not eating. Call an orderly in here," Timothy snapped, his voice icy.

His mood soured further. There were some things he deeply resented having strangers help with.

"I'm here to take care of you, aren't I? Why call someone else? Just tell me where it hurts," Sallie protested.

Timothy's expression darkened. "Get a male orderly. Do you understand what I need him for?"

His voice was sharp. Sallie wilted

under his glare, grumbling, "Jessica's disappeared too, not picking up the phone-I'm so done with this."

With a huff, she went to find an orderly. If Jessica were here, none of this would be happening.

Sallie had barely left when Phelps and Naylor arrived.

Phelps had been so terrified last

night that he'd fainted. He'd only just regained consciousness, but

insisted on coming to see Timothy immediately.

No sooner had they stepped into the room than Timothy hurled a pillow at them, ordering them to get out.

Phelps, already annoyed, was about to lose his temper when Sallie returned with the orderly.

That's when Naylor and Phelps realized that Timothy needed help getting to the bathroom.

Timothy had never been this humiliated in his life. He wished he could snap his fingers and have Jessica right there by his side.

If Jessica were here, none of this would be happening.